Gary Shteyngart was born in the former Soviet Union. He moved to the US along with his family when he was seven years-old. On New Year’s Eve 2014, he had an idea: what would it be like if he spent a week watching just Russian state TV?

When Deepak Singh first arrived in the United States, the memory of a prized portable radio brought him to RadioShack, the store that produced his beloved set. He ended up taking a sales job there, an unlikely position that gave him an unexpected view of America.

Chhom Nimol is the lead singer of the LA-based band Dengue Fever. She was born in Cambodia, but has been living in LA for the past decade or so. Now, after waiting 14 years, Nimol finally got her US citizenship and touring with the band just got a lot easier.

Updated

02/06/2015 - 10:45am

How does picking the tomato compare to the onion? And what about strawberries? One Mexican American migrant farmworker who lives in California's Central Valley took us to the produce aisle to tell us what he sees when he's at the supermarket.

The US citizenship has an amazingly high pass rate — but it also has a number of critics. They argue the questions, frankly, are bad. And the test doesn't encourage immigrants to become better citizens, but rather to memorize facts they can write on the test.

Demand for medical care will grow. One possible solution would be to allow more foreign-trained doctors to work in the US. Many are ready to practice but the US system for residency keeps them out of the running. Marina Giovannelli of WLRN-Miami has more.

Hiking was never fun for Van Pol when he was a child: It brought back fearful memories of his family's escape from Cambodia and into refugee camps. It wasn't until a high school field trip to a New Hampshire peak that hiking became Van's salvation.

A court ruling in the Dominican Republic means thousands of Dominicans of Haitian descent are losing their citizenship — some of whom can trace their roots in the Dominican Republic as far back as 1929.

Turbaned and proud. That's Vishavjit Singh who responded to the hate directed at him after 9/11 by drawing political cartoons about being Sikh in America. Then he got really bold and dressed up as Captain America and took to the streets of New York City.

Along with gaining the right to vote and the responsibility of serving on a jury, some studies show new citizens make clear economic gains as well. But not everyone buys it. Naturalization rates in the US are extremely low. Of the more than 8 million people with a US green card, less than 40 percent will go on to naturalize. That's nearly a third of the naturalization rate in our neighbor to the north, Canada.

The Tsarnaevs trained at the mixed martial arts gym under reporter Andrea Crossan's home. And, it turns out, that some of the best fighters in MMA come from the Caucasus region that also produced the Tsarnaevs.

Updated

02/06/2015 - 10:45am

How does picking the tomato compare to the onion? And what about strawberries? One Mexican American migrant farmworker who lives in California's Central Valley took us to the produce aisle to tell us what he sees when he's at the supermarket.

The holidays are closing in, and next year is sure to bring battles over the budget and the debt ceiling. So some immigration advocates are ramping up the pressure on a few Republican members of the House before the issue gets drowned out by other Washington politics.

An online photo album is casting new light on a forgotten episode in Hawaii's history, when US authorities imported 1,500 Russians to work on sugar plantations. Most of the migrants never made it past the language and cultural barrier, but the story of how they came to Hawaii says plenty about American attitudes to race and language.

Market Basket, the New England grocery chain, is a staple in immigrant communities. Not only do they shop there, they work there, too. But after a power struggle at the top of the company, customers and employees worry this could be the end.

A Buddhist statue was meant to simply ward off trash and graffiti on a rough Oakland corner. But it became a community gathering place for the area's Vietnamese immigrants, who turned the site into a beautiful shrine.

The US wine industry is rich with immigrant stories. And there are the elders among them, including winemaker Miljenko “Mike” Grgich. He turned 90 this year and his story is one that traces the modern history of American wine.

Updated

11/20/2014 - 11:00pm

The president announced Thursday night that he will expand programs to allow undocumented immigrants to temporarily work and live legally in US, which is welcome news for those who qualify. But do President Obama's actions go too far — or not far enough?